Nordic Commonwealth
The Nordic Commonwealth,''' commonly referred to simply as '''the Commonwealth, '''or '''NorCom, is a unitary constitutional monarchy located in southeastern continent. The Commonwealth is roughly comparable to the Carpathian Federation and Japan in terms of size and occupies a large amount of habitable land. It borders on large swaths of unclaimed land and abuts several pockets of heavy alien resistance that have been fortified. In 2300 the Scandinavian Union launched six "colony ships" to establish a presence on planet. The ships landed in 2350 and quickly formed a small community. For roughly ten years the colony struggled in the strange new world against diseases, climate, and hostile lifeforms. Over time the nation stabilized as it developed ways to adapt to the environment and the government started a population drive that saw an explosive expansion of the nation and its territory. The growth slowed by the 2380s due to declining agricultural space leading to a policy of throttled growth. The Commonwealth is technically an autonomous nation within the Scandinavian Union but is independent in all but formal law. Structurally, the government is a constitutional monarchy with the Scandinavian Council of State legally as its head of state. The country is multilingual at the national level. It is culturally diverse with many Scandinavian cultures and others thanks to a policy of encouraging immigration, with a population of roughly 6 million. Its advanced economy is based off its strong science and industry sectors fueled by abundant natural resources. The Nordic Commonwealth is a developed country and one of the wealthiest on the planet, with a high GDP per-capita, and an extremely high quality of living. It is known for its transparent government, civil liberties, economic development, and quality education. It is a founding member of the Planetary Council and pursues trade agreements with numerous nations especially the Carpathian Federation and Japan. History Founding & Development The Nordic Commonwealth was formed on the initiative of the Scandinavian Union. Although the Union was technologically advanced and enjoyed a high standard of living, resources and space on Earth were dwindling by the late 23rd Century. It was decided that an effort had to be mounted to colonize another world in hopes of preserving humanity should Earth be unable to resolve its growing problems. Preliminary research into what would be required for such an undertaking took over a decade, and it was not until 2282 that the project was officially announced. The Nordic Commonwealth was to be a massive state run effort to establish the Scandinavian Union on another habitable world. It would be the largest project in the Union's history, involving a huge amount of government spending and the recruitment of over 1,200,000 personnel to design and manufacture the technology needed. The planet that would be colonized was selected some years before the announcement, planet was thought to have roughly the same atmospheric content of Earth, a similar temperature, and a stable climate. Its selection had been kept a secret, but unbeknownst to the Union several other nations had discovered it as well. When the Anglo-American Republic announced its intentions to colonize planet the Scandinavians were shocked and quickly announced as well, not wanting to seem unprepared. Several other nations quickly followed suit and it seemed that the race was truly on. It was now imperative for Scandinavia to reach the planet quickly in order to gain the best land. By 2290 much of the design and development stage of the program had been completed and construction of the components began. The "Asgard Class" ''was revealed that year and were the vessels that would take the Nordic Commonwealth to space. These ships were engineering marvels, 300 feet tall and over 1,000 feet long. They could hold approximately 20,000 people for a long duration voyage in Cryo-pods and contained tens of thousands of tons of machinery, building material, and supplies. Technical innovations onboard included Thorium reactors, industrial 3D printers, and factory robots. The selection process for those 20,000 was based off both practical matters and a desire to keep Scandinavian culture. As such it included not only engineers and scientists, but artists and intellectuals. In a tearful ceremony, the Prime Minister and millions of citizens bid the ships farewell on July 9th, 2300. '''Planetfall' For fifty years the Asgards ''traveled through interstellar space at 99.9% the speed of light. They automatically entered planet orbit and flight crews were awoken from their deep sleep. Government & Politics '''National Government' The Nordic Commonwealth is a parliamentary democracy technically within the constitutional monarchy of the Scandinavian Union. Therefore much theoretical responsibility is vested in the hands of the Scandinavian Council of State, a body made up of the heads of state of each constituent country. However, the Council's authority is mainly ceremonial, more so due to the Commonwealth's isolation from Earth. The Lieutenant-Governor, chosen by parliament, is the Council's representative in the Commonwealth, but most real power lies in the parliament and national cabinet. The parliament, known as the Riksdag, is elected by plurality in electoral districts based off population every four years and consists of 150 seats. The Riksdag is the primary law-making body of the Commonwealth and thought by many to be the most powerful organ of government. The National Cabinet is headed and selected by the First Minister who himself is appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor and has historically always been the leader of the largest party in the Riksdag. The First Minister has the power to appoint judges and heads of government corporations and agencies as well as direct national policy and initiate legislation of their own. Ultimately the First Minister is responsible to parliament and can be removed from office if they lose a vote of no confidence. Legal System & Law Enforcement The judicial system of the Commonwealth is mixed between the Civil and Common Law legal systems, with both codified laws and individual judgments helping shape the law. There generally exists three levels of courts divided into civil or criminal law. District courts deal with lower level cases and are spread throughout the nation, appeal courts review previous decisions and are generally located in major cities, finally there is the Supreme Court which has the final say in all appeals and is located in Ny Vinland. Although judges are appointed by the government they are independent and the judiciary is legally protected from outside influence. Law enforcement is a national responsibility and falls to the Commonwealth Police Force. The service was formed in 2378 as an agency of the Department of the Interior and unified several other agencies. The CPF is responsible for general police duties, criminal investigations, guarding government facilities, armed response, and border security. It is generally lightly armed in major cities with specialized response teams for major threats while rural and border areas have more heavily armed officers. Counter-terrorism and intelligence is carried out by the Nordic Intelligence Agency which is also under the administration of the Department of the Interior, but is separate from the CPF. Foreign Relations & Military The Commonwealth maintains a professional all-volunteer military force, supplemented by drafted reservists and androids, known as the Nordic Defense Force. The NDF is a government agency responsible to the Department of Defence and is divided between the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Home Guard. The head of the NDF is the "Supreme Commander," the highest ranked officer in military while the commander-in-chief is officially the Lieutenant-Governor. The NDF is primarily focused on defense and combating hostile life forms with little emphasis on offensive capability, something that is politically unpopular and unlikely to occur. Selective conscription has been enforced since soon after Planetfall and sees roughly 25,000 troops inducted annually for a year-long period into the Home Guard. The Home Guard is a force consisting of all conscripts and reservists and has ground, air, and naval forces. Home Guard units are primarily tasked with civil defense, disaster relief, and supporting the regular military in the event of war. Regular military units are composed entirely of volunteer soldiers and androids. All together the NDF could muster roughly 140,000 trained soldiers in the event of war. In recent years, First Minister Kydland and Defense Secretary Yorgasen have begun phasing out conscription with a purely volunteer military expected by 2408. The Commonwealth's foreign relations with all nations on planet have been cordial with several partnerships forged. It was a founding member of the Planetary Council and has worked hard to increase cooperation through that organization. Carpathia and Japan are major trade partners as is the Anglo-American Republic. However, political and military cooperation between nations has been limited due to their small size and the abundance of unclaimed land. Officials '-Lieutenant Governor: 'Karl Hammarskjold '-First Minister:' Roald Kydland '-Foreign Secretary:' Tomas Wallenberg '-Defense Secretary:' Anders Yorgasen '-Industry & Trade Secretary:' Jens Rasmussen '-Interior Secretary': Emil Hayha -'Justice Secretary: '''Theodor Myrdal '-Treasury Secretary': Svienn Grimsson '-Health & Welfare Secretary:''' Fridtjof Syse